Club Rebound Rising Up Rattling Good Project From four members to full bore. Freak accident doesn’t break Texas Lions hold rattlesnake 21-year-old’s spirit. roundup. This Doctor Makes Den Calls New President Dr. Jitsuhiro Yamada of Japan and his wife, Dr. Toshiko JULY/AUGUST 2015 lionmagazine.org This fountain of youth can make you feel 30 years younger. AGING = PAIN For many, arthritis and spinal disc degeneration are the most common source of pain, along with hips, knees, shoulders and the neck. In designing the Jacuzzi Hydrotherapy Shower, we worked with expert physicians to maximize its pain relieving therapy by utilizing the correct level of water pressure to provide gentle yet effective hydrotherapy. 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Call now its Shower, and it can truly change your life. the first step in getting relief from those aches and pains. © 2015 Aging In The Home Remodelers 82015 Contents July/August 2015 Volume 98 | Number 1 Features 34 Also Featured 20 25 Our New President’s The Doctor Is In Theme Dr. Jitsuhiro Yamada of Japan promises to advance the health 38 of the association. 34 Rising Up A tree limb crushed a 21-year- old’s spine but not her spirit. 38 Rattlesnake Roundup Departments Texas Lions don’t get rattled by their unusual fundraiser. 4 President’s Message 44 10 First Roar 17 Service From Four 44 to Full Bore 19 Service Abroad A club in North Dakota 47 @Lion rebounds thanks to Facebook 48 Visionary Work and an old-fashioned, father- and-son chat. 49 Foundation Impact On the cover: Cover photo by Daniel Morris JULY/AUGUST 2015 LION 1 Enhance your digital LION experience. Click on “HELP” in the toolbar above for instructions on how to make the most of the digital LION. WE SERVE 99th Lions Clubs International Convention MISSION FUKUOKA, JAPAN STATEMENT OF Friday, June 24 – Tuesday, June 28, 2016 LIONS CLUBS INTERNATIONAL: “To empower volunteers to serve their communities, meet humanitarian needs, encourage peace and promote international understanding through Lions clubs.” CONTACTING THE LION For change of address, non-receipt of the magazine and other subscription issues, contact 630-468-6982 or stats@ lionsclubs.org. For all other inquiries call 630-571-5466. Have a story idea or photo? Want to comment on a story or make a suggestion for LION editors? Contact the LION at lionmagazine@ lionsclubs.org or at 630-468-6909 or 630-468-7023. POSTMASTERS Periodicals postage paid at Oak Brook, Illinois 60523 and additional mailing offices. Subscription price, US$6.00 year, US$12.00 year mailed outside North America; Single copies, US$1.00. Send notices of undeliverable copies on form 3579 to LION, 300 W 22nd St Oak Brook IL 60523-8842. “Canada Post Publications Mail No. 40029736 Return Undeliverable Canadian Ad - dresses to: LIONS 2835 Kew Drive, Windsor, ON N8T 3B7.” 2 LION LIONMAGAZINE.ORG our best selling dress shirt white pinpoint oxford SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICE $19.95 reg. $69.50-$74.50 white 100% cotton 6 collar styles button or french cuffs regular, big & tall or trim 1 14 2 x 31 to 20 x 37 FREE (reg. $10.95) monogramming Add this silk tie for $19.95 (reg. $62.50) Blue, Red, Green, Black, Purple or Orange. paulfredrick.com/introoffer 800-309-6000 Specify promotional code MWFSTL FREE EXCHANGES. New customer offer. Limit 4 shirts per customer. Shipping extra. Cannot be combined with other offers. Expires 9/30/15. [President’s Message WE SERVE in action: Multiple District 300 Taiwan Lions distribute blankets to nursing home residents. No Translation Required: WE SERVE 皆さんの 国際会長 を務めることを、 大変光栄 に思いま As a doctor, I have always been dedicated to healing, す。 and to do so while treating patients in a dignified manner. These Japanese words mean “I am honored to serve A good doctor not only treats illness but pays attention to as international president.” the entire person—their worries, their concerns, their strug - 素晴 らしい 奉仕 の1 年となることを 楽しみにしてい gles. If you had asked me after many years as a doctor if ます。 I treated the whole person, I would have said, “Of course.” That means “I look forward to a year of great But it took a serious illness for me to re-evaluate my service.” approach as a doctor (see story on page 20). Likewise, as So how do Lions in Japan say “We Serve”? Well, it’s Lions we are dedicated to service, but reassessing our “We Serve.” Our motto is not translated. Lions throughout approach and focusing on the dignity of others in all we the world proudly proclaim “We Serve.” The universality do will take our service to a new level. of our motto underscores that despite language and cul - I ask each of you this year especially to bring dignity tural differences we Lions share a common purpose. And to children. Through a project or program I ask you to although I am the 99th international president, each of my make their lives better. Working together, 1.4 million Lions predecessors having had their own priorities and can help the next generation prosper and secure good approaches, international presidents have shared a com - health, find opportunity and achieve happiness. mon commitment to service. So I hope my year as president is like any other as Lions continue to serve with tremendous enthusiasm and impact. Yet I also hope to make a difference in how we serve. My theme is Bringing Dignity to Others Through Humanitarian Service. That’s something that has been in - herent in Lions’ service since Melvin Jones first gathered Lions together. But by intentionally focusing on my theme Dr. Jitsuhiro Yamada and keeping it in the forefront we can be sure to maintain Lions Clubs International President and even improve our commitment to service. Learn the complete details of my program by reading the story on page 25. Many nations, many backgrounds, a shared commitment to service: see the list of our 99 international presidents. 4 LION LIONMAGAZINE.ORG [The Big Picture A Life of Healing and Serving New International President Dr. Jistsuhiro Yamada of Japan is a neurosurgeon, hospital director and a longtime Lion. He’s shown volunteering in Japan at a senior citizens’ home, planting trees and working as a doctor. (Story on page 20.) Photos by John Timmerman. Photo of Yamada wearing a mask by Daniel Morris. [The Big Picture Uncowed Tomakomai Chuo Lions in Japan have treated schoolchildren with special needs to a trip to Heidi Farm in Naganuma since 1986. The farm’s founder and president, Kanji Kanagawa, is a member of the Hayakita Lions Club. Lions accompany the children to the farm. “Feeding and petting animals works like magic to the soul—for adults and children alike,” according to a story in the Japan LION. Japan is a bastion of Lions with 124,200 members in 3,156 clubs. [First Roar CHILDREN’S SERVICE WEEK SET Lions’ Children’s Dignity Week is Aug. 30-Sept. 5. International President Dr. Jitsuhiro Yamada encourages Lions to aid children that week and to report the service to Lions Clubs International. Meal programs for homeless students, literacy programs for hospitalized children and sports programs for Intelligencer Photo by Sun Media/The young refugees are just Dave Sicker of the Belleville Lions Club in Ontario, Canada, tests a young girl’s vision. Children's Dignity Week is a few ways a club can Aug. 30-Sept. 5. assist children. Also consider the Reading Action Program or the LIONS AID NEPAL AFTER EARTHQUAKE Lions Children First and Supported by a $100,000 grant from Lions Clubs International Foundation, Leo Spotlight on Lions of Nepal aided victims of the devastating earthquake in April. Lions Children programs. distributed food, water, clothes and sanitary items after the disaster, which (Information on them is killed nearly 9,000 people and injured tens of thousands. Many Lions clubs at lionsclubs.org.) Report worldwide raised funds for relief and some sent supplies. Lions in England the service on the online dispatched a plane full of water purifiers.